Cutting Off Red Sea Oil Route May Be One Crisis Too Many: Bousso - Canadian Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow

The kingdom has exported around 5 million barrels per day from its west coast since March, more than double prewar levels. Roughly four-fifths of those shipments transited through Bab el-Mandeb, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

But what initially appeared to be a successful workaround has become a target. The Houthi blockade is once again forcing a rapid redrawing of global oil trade routes. Many vessels carrying Saudi crude to Asia are avoiding Bab el-Mandeb altogether, instead crossing the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean and then circumnavigating Africa.

The logistical complications do not end there. The largest crude carriers cannot transit the Suez Canal fully laden due to depth restrictions. They must first unload part of their cargo into a pipeline south of the canal and then reload the crude near Alexandria before continuing their voyage.

All told, avoiding Bab el-Mandeb adds at least four weeks to a typical tanker journey, more than doubling normal sailing times while sharply increasing freight and insurance costs.

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Those soaring fuel prices are increasingly feeding through into consumption patterns.

Global oil demand fell by nearly 5% in the second quarter of 2026 from a year earlier to 99.1 million bpd, according to International Energy Agency estimates. The declines have been uneven across regions and mostly concentrated in Asia and Europe.

It is mindblowing how unconcerned people seem to be about this.